The present invention relates to a connection structure for electric wires to be accomodated in an electric connection box.
The electric connection box to be used for branching and connecting a wire harness or the like for an automobile with a variety of electrical equipments branches and connects the electric wires rationally and economically by concentrating a branching and connecting point at one point. A variety of types have been developed for different kinds and applications of automobiles as the wire harness grows dense.
One of the aforementioned electric connection boxes is manufactured, as shown in FIG. 9, by punching a hoop material 6 into individual bus bars 7A to 7C by a press mold, by cutting and raising tab terminals 7a and 7b vertically from the pattern portion of each of the bus bars 7A to 7C, by stacking insulating plates 8A to 8C individually between the bus bars 7A to 7C, and by housing the stack in an upper case 9A and a lower case 9B of an electric connection box 9. Here, numeral 10 designates relay terminals, and numerals 11 and 12 designate relays and fuses.
However, the wiring of each of the aforementioned bus bars 7A to 7C has to be complicated by folding or bending it according to the conveniences of the circuit construction. The circuit design takes a long time, and the number of designing steps increases. When only one circuit is to be changed, the wiring of another circuit has to be reconsidered to raise another problem that a quick response to the design change cannot be made.
The present invention has been conceived for solving the aforementioned problems of the prior art and has an object to provide an electric wire connection structure which can reduce the number of steps of designing a circuit drastically and can respond to a design change quickly.
In order to solve the aforementioned problems, according to the present invention, there is provided a connection structure for electric wires to be accomodated in an electric connection box, characterized: in that an insulating plate has a pair of upper and lower electric wire fitting grooves formed straight in its upper face and lower face at vertically symmetric positions such that the paired upper and lower electric wire fitting grooves are provided in plurality at a constant pitch in the widthwise direction thereof; in that press-fitting slits are formed to extend through the paired upper and lower electric wire fitting grooves and are provided in plurality at a constant pitch in the longitudinal direction of the paired upper and lower electric wire fitting grooves; in that compression relay terminals having compression blades formed at their upper and lower portions are press-fitted into suitable portions of the individual press-fitting slits; and in that the electric wires are individually fitted in the paired upper and lower electric wire fitting grooves, in which the compression relay terminals are press-fitted, so that the upper and lower electric wires are individually compressed and connected by the upper and lower compression blades of the compression relay terminals.
According to the present invention, the common insulating plate is prepared such that the paired upper and lower electric wire fitting grooves are formed straight in the plurality in the insulating plate at the constant pitch in the transverse direction, and such that the press-fitting slits are formed in the plurality in the individual electric wire fitting grooves at the constant pitch in the longitudinal direction; the compression relay terminals are press-fitted in suitable positions of the individual press-fitting slits: and the electric wires are individually fitted in the paired upper and lower electric wire fitting grooves having the compression relay terminals press-fitted therein. As a result, the upper and lower electric wires are individually compressed and connected in the upper and lower compression blades of the compression relay terminals so that the upper and lower electric wires of the insulating plate can be electrically connected.
If the construction is made such that a jumper terminal having a plurality of compression blades formed in a crosswise direction across the pitch of the electric wire fitting grooves is press-fitted in the press-fitting slits of the electric wire fitting grooves in each face of said insulating plate such that its individual compression blades are compressed and connected with the individual electric wires, as in Aspect 2, or if the construction is made such that a jumper wire is compressed and connected with the compression blades of the individual relay terminals which are press-fitted in the press-fitting slits of the electric wire fitting grooves in each face of said insulating plate, as in Aspect 3, the electric wires in the crosswise direction in each face of the insulating plate can be electrically connected by the jumper terminal or the jumper wire.
If the construction is made such that an input/output terminal having a compression blade formed is press-fitted in the press-fitting slit of the electric wire fitting groove in each face of said insulating plate so that its compression blade is compressed and connected with the electric wire, as in Aspect 4, the input/output terminal can be disposed at the position of the press-fitting slit.